Fastener-setting machine



jMalch 11, 1930. AR, D TAYLOR 1,749,856

FASTENER SETTING MACHINE Filed Sept. 22, 1927 5 Sheets-Sheet l Ulli/l IMM! M nuria! l INVENT OR l ATTORN FSTENER SETTING MACHINE Filed sept. 22, 1927 s sheets-sheet 2 11 g-Vln BY 4" HEKQZ' ATT EY March. 1 1;- 1930.

R. D. TAYLOR 1,749,856

FASTENER SETTING MACHINE Filed Sept. 22, 1927 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 FGA March 11, 1930.l l R, D, TAYLOR v 1,749,856

FASTENER SETTING MACHINE Filedsept. 22, 1927 5 sheets-sheet -4 Marchl'ul, 1930. R D, TAYLOR 1,749,856

- FASTENER SETTING MACHINE Filed Sept. 22, 1927 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR v BYu 55 f 723.4170 NEY Patented Mar. 11, 1930 v UNITED STATES PATENT orf-'ICEN RAYMOND D. TAYLOR, OF WINNETKA, ILLINOIS, IASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO 'UNITED-CARR FASTENER CORPORATION, 0F CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, A

i CORPORATION OF MASSACHUSETTS FASTENER-SETTING MACHINE I Application led Sdptember 22, 1927. Serial No. 221,224.

rIhis invention relates to machines for setting fasteners in various articles of work, and is especially concerned with the handling of fasteners of the so-called snap type. It is the general object of the invention to devise a machine ofk this type which will handle ar uncommonly wide range of work while at the same time being reliable'fin op eration and simple irf construction.

The invention will be herein disclosed as embodied in a machine designed to set snap fasteners in sheet material, such as automobile curtains, rugs, and the like, and an important object of the invention is to devise a machine of this character which will'permit the setting of the fasteners a considerable distance backfrom the edge of .the work.` Such a machine requires a deep throat to permit the introduction of the work, and consequently involves unusual problems in the delivery of the fasteners. to the setting mechanism. The invention provides a machine in which these problems are satisfactoril solved.

The vvarious features o the invention will be readily understood from the following description when read in connection with the accompanying drawings and will be more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a machine constructed in accordance with this invention;

Fig. 2.is a vertical cross-sectional view of the machine shown in Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing more particularly the mechanism for delivering fasteners to the setting mechanism;l

Fig 4 is a'horizontal cross-sectional view partly in elevation, the plane'of cross-section being indicated by the line 4 4, Fig. 2;

Figs. 5 and 6 are cross-sectional views substantiallypon the lines 5 5 and 6 6, respectively, Fig. 2;. Y 45 Figsf?, 8, 9 and 10 are diagrammatic plan views showing successive steps in the feeding of fastener members to the setting mechanism; and

Figs. 11 and 12' are perspective views of elements ofv the setting -mechanism.

livering them to the setting mechanism.

A very common type of snap fastener includes a stud having a more or less rounded head, and a socket provided with spring members to grip the head. The stud usually is secured to the Work by an inner or base member, having a tubular extension which is forced into the hollow stud, the fabric or otherl article to which the stud is attached being gripped between the disk-like bases or' flanges of the inner and outer members. The machine shown in the drawings is designed particularly to handle fasteners of this type, the outer member of the stud being shown at A (see particularly Figs. 3 and 6), while the inner member ofthe stud is shown at B.

Referring to Fig. 1 it will be seen that this machine comprises two rotary hoppers 2 and 3, respectively, the hopper 2 being designed to hold a supplyof the members A, while the hopper 3 handles a supply of the members B. These hoppers sort the fastener members and deliver them, respectively, to raceways 4 and 5 which guide their respective fasteners to upper and lower horizontal tracks 6 Aand 7. These tracks are mounted, respectively,

above and below a deep throat 8 designed to permit the introduction of the work, and mechanism is provided for feeding the fas teners step by step along the tracks and deso This setting mechanism comprises a stationary anvil'lO and a plunger or driver having a tip l1 to engage the fasteners, this plunger being mounted directly over the anvil and arranged to reciprocate toward' and from it. The detailed description of the various mechanisms of the machine will be taken up in substantially the order in which they have just been mentioned. Y

It will be seen from an inspection of Fig. 1 that the hoppers 2 and 3 are both mounted horizontally on a shaft 12. These hoppers consist of hollow tapered sections with their smaller ends abutting, and their larger ends opening into stationary casing members 13 90 and 14 fitted with covers 15 and 16, respectively, at their upper ends through which supplies of the fastenersvmay be introduced. This mechanism for receiving the fasteners, sorting them, and delivering them to the raceways may be of any suitable'character,- a num` ber of Satisfactory hopper mechanisms being Vwell known in this art, any one of which can readily'be adapted to, or redesigned for, use 5 in this machine. The hopper 3 has a pulley section 17 formed' thereon to receive a driving belt 18, Fig. 2, .which runs over a driving pulley 20. This/pulley rotates with another pulley 21 which is driven through bevel gears 22, Fig. 2, from the main driving shaft 23 ofthe machine.

The two raceways 4 and 5 join their respective tracks 6 and 7 at approximately right angles to them, and it is necessary.'I to feed the fastener members along theirl respective tracks to the setting mechanism. Inl order-'to avoid the use of a long stroke feeding mechanism, means is provided forrfeedinga series of these fasteners in unison,'the entire series being advanced one step at a time so that the distance travelled by any individual fastener member in a given cycle of operations ofthe machine is very short and a higher speed of operation thus is permitted.-v

Referring to F'g. 3 it will'be seen that the lower track 7- comprises a flat surface on which the members B ride,this track v being provided with a stationary marginal guide I 24 under which the edges of the bases of the 3o members B run'and by means of which they are guided. The opposite margins ofthe bases of the parts B slide under flat leaf spring sections 25 projecting from aV bar 26, these sections 25 serving to press the bases face of the track and to apply. a certain frietion to them so that they will be held in any position to which they are moved by the feeder. 40 The feeder which cooperates with the lower track 7 consists of a bar 27 (see fFigs. 3 and 7 to 10, inclusive) which/is provided with an end c and four shoulders/d, each'adapted to engage the u 'ght -or tubular portions of the fasteners and to feed them forward.

. Mechanism isprovided to give this feeder a limit of its stroke; and then inward agaln, as-

shown in Fig. 9 where each feed shoulder d will engage the fastener member in the rear of that whichlit opera-ted upon during its previous forward stroke. When this feeder is again moved forward, in the direction in- 05 dicated by the arrow in Fig. 10, it will adof the-fastener members against.- the iat sur-- vance all the fasteners one step, moving al1- other fastener into setting position on the anvil 10. This same movement is utilized to control the transfer of the fastener members from the raceway 5 to the track 7 Referring again to Figs. 3 and 7 to 10, it will bc seen that the lowerinost fastener B in theraceway 5 is stopped by a spring 28. Also, thata separator linger 30l is adjustably secured to the feeder 27 by a screw 31. The outward movement of the feeder into the posi'- tion shown in Fig. 7 carries the end or point of the separator linger 30 past the tubular part of the lowelmost fastening member B in the raceway 5, so that when the feeder next moves backwardly, as shown in Fig. 8, the

-inclined surface of the separator 3() forcesv the member B.' ont of the raceway and into the track '7, as shown in Fig. 8. When this feed member again moves inwardly, as shown in Fig. 9, the outermost shoulder l on the feeder is moved behind the fastener B" in readiness to feed it forward toward the setting mechanism.

The fastener members A are fed along the upper track 6 in the same manner as the members B, this track being equipped with parts 24 and 25 corresponding to the parts 24 and 25 above described. The feeding operation is performed by a feeder 32, essentially like the feeder 2'?, andthis feeder also is equipped with a separator finger 33 which effects the transfer of the fastener members A from the raceway 4 to the track 7. The raceway also has a spring 28', Fig. 4, which' yieldingly arrests the movement ofthe line of fasteners conducted thereby. Both the feeders 32 and 27 are operated in unison, and they are both formed integral with or are rigidly secured to the arms 32 and 27', Fig. 2, of a feed bar 33. This feed bar is slidably supported in a carriage 34, Figs. 2, 4 and 5, 'for movement longitudinally of the tracksV 6 and V7, and this longitudinal movement is produced by a cam 35, Figs. 2 and 5, operating through a lever 36, and apin 37 which projects from the bar 33. In order to reciprocate the carriage 34 and thus move the feed bar 33 and the feeders 27 and 32 carried thereby back and forth transversely of the tracks 6 and 7, the carria'ge 34 is provided with a lng which is slotv ted, as shown at '38, Fig. 4, to receive a pin 40 projecting upwardly from one arm 41 of a bell crank lever. This lever is secured fast on the lower end of an upright rock shaft 42, and an arm 43 at its uphper end carries a stud or rollwhich runs in the path of a cam 44.

Figs. 2 and 5, which rotates with the main shaft 23. The cams 35 and 44 are so timed that they produce the four-way motion of the' feeders 27 and 32` as above described.

For the'purposeof driving the shaft 23, an electric motor 45, Fig. 1, is vprovided and the shaft of this motor is belted to a pulleyv 46 which runs freely on, the Shaft 23. The pulley may be connected, however, with the shaft to drive it, by means of a single revolution clutch of any suitable type connected through the rod 47, Fig. 2, to a treadle, the arrangement being such that when the treadle is depressed theshaft 23,wi1l'make a single revolution and then be stopped automatically. Clutches of this type are ,well known in thisart so that any detailed description of the clutch is unnecessary. v

The setting mechanism may be of any suitable construction and necessarily will .depend upon the nature of the fastenings handled. The arrangement shown comprises a ldriver bar 48 mounted to slide in a vertical guide-v way formed in the front part of the machine frame. This bar is reciprocated` by a crank 50 operated by'an eccentric pin 51 projecting from a disk' 52 which is secured fast on the .2o forward end of the shaft 23. In the lower end of this bar a socket is provided to receive the dri-ver tip 11 previously referred to, this tip having a socket in its lower end to receive the head of the st-ud A. The tip l1 is removably secured in the bar vby a screw 53, Fig. 2.

A cover plate 54, Fig. 2, is secured in front,l

protects this part of the setting mechof and anism.l

Each fastener A which lis brought into .3 setting position' is gripped between the groovedA lower ends of two spring fingers 55-55, Fig. 6, which are secured to opposite sides of a slide 56 mounted in a slot 57, Fig.

2, ofthe driver bar 48. Each inner fastener 3" member B, when moved into setting position,

is similarly ipped between the groovedends of bars or gers 60-60, Figs. 1, 3, 4 and l 6, which are mounted in upright guideways "formed in the machine frame at opposite 4o sides of the anvil- 10.vv Springs 61-61 press these bars inwardly and serve also to hold them normally in their uppermost positions as shown, for example, in Fig. 3. As the.

driver bar 48 is moved downwardly hy the crank 50, the fingers 55 will move with it due to their fri'ctional engagement with the bar, and they will thus carry the fastener member A down into contact with the work W, Fig. 6. This downward movement will continue until the work is pressed against the'upper surfaces of the fingers 60-60 and the movement of thefingers .55-` is ar' rested by their contact with the work. Thereafter the bar 48 will continue to de- 55 scend, vthe head 'ofthe fastener member A will beentered in the socket in the tip 11, and the inclinedgsurfaces 62, Fig. 6, on the lower` part of the driver bar will engage correspondingly inclined surfaces 63-63 on the fingers 55-55 and force these fingers apart,

thus causing them to release th/e member A which they carry. A further descent of the.

driver will bring enough pressure to bear on thefingers 60-60 to force them downwardly I5 and causethemto spread apart and release -ting operation is being completed.

out of order.

the member B, this spreading action being produced by the engagement of inclined surfaces above the grooves in the fingers 60-60 with the upper surfaces ofthe anvil 10, as clearly shown in Fig. 6. The final movement of the driver will press the bases of the two members A and B firmly against the workcausing them to grip it securely, and at the same time distorting the upper end of the tubular part of the fastener B inside the head A and locking the two parts securely together and to the work.

As' the driver bar 48 is moved upwardly the fingers 55-55 will move with it until the head of a screw'65, 'F 2, which projects rearwardly from the slide 56 strikes the head of another screw 66 and stops further upward movement ofn the fingers, their movement being arrested while their grooved lower ends are in position to receive another fastener member A when it is advanced along the track 6 by the feeder 32. As soon as the driver bar moves out'of contact with the fingers 60-60 they will be returned aO'ain to their normal positions, as shown in Fig. 3, due to the action of the springs 61-61.

Any possibility of accidentally displacing the fastener member B with reference to the upper member A'during the setting operation 1s prevented by a centering pin 67, Figs. 2 and 6, Which is mounted to project' centrally through the anvil 10 and is normally held in a .depressed .or inoperative position by a coiled spring 68. The lower end of this pin is enlarged and rests on the end of a slide 70 which is pivoted to the arm -71 of the bell crank lever 4l, previously referred to, (see Figs. 2, 4 and 5). The timing of the parts is such that -this pin is projected upwardly through the anvil and through the fastener member B supported thereon during the time that the plunger 48 is maln'ng the lower portion of its stroke. This pin thus holds the fastener members in alinement while the set- The invention thus 'provides a machine of relatively simple-design, which will handle Aa great variety of work, and in which the parts are sturdy and substantialin construction so that the machine is not liable to get The fact that the machine has a very deep throat between the two tracks 6 land 7 Ais an important practical advantage in permitting the setting of fasteners a considerable distance back from the edge of a curtain, rug, or othen articleof work, as is often desirable. ,While this involves arel'- atively long feeding movement of the fastenstrokes with a consequent reduction in speed obtainab1e,and the complications introduced l. by momentum While I have herein shown and described a preferred embodiment of my invention, it will be evident that the invention may be embodied in other forms without departing from the spirit or scope thereof. The machine shown in the drawings has been described and illustrated as adapted to handle as fastener of a particular construction, but it will be understood that this machine can be readily modified to handle other fasteners. For this purpose it may be necessary to replace theingers and 60 and the iiriver tip 11, and possibly other parts, with members designed to meet the requirements of the particular fastener to be set, but by making these, and in some cases other minor changes, the machine may beadapted to handle a great' variety of fasteners. The machine shown in the drawings is delsigned to handle the stud part of aV snap fastener. In order to handle the socket part of the fastener it is usual to provide another machine of the same organization as the machine shown in Fig. 1 and mounted .onv the base 75 at the left of the motor 45, Fig. l, this second machine preferably also being driven from the motor 45.

Having thus described my invention, what IA desire to claim as new is:

1. In a machine for Vvsetting fasteners, the combination of a setting mechanism, a track adapted to receive and guide a series of fastener members toward said mechanism, a raceway for conducting said fastener members to said track, said raceway meeting said track laterally at an abrupt angle, a reciproeating feeder for advancing a series of said members along said track step by step, operating mechanism for said feeder, and meansv at the end of the track between which said feeder delivers a fastener in each cycle of operation of the machine, said fingers gripping said fastener and supporting i t for the operation of the setting mechanism and adapted to release it to permit it to be drawn upwardly through the lingers.

RAYMOND D. TAYLOR.

arranged to be actuated by said operating mechanism for controlling Vthe transfer 'of the fastener members from said raceway to said track. Y

2. In a machine for setting'fasteners, the combination of a setting mechanisma track adapted to receive and guide a series of fastener members'toward said mechanism, a

raceway for conducting said fastener members to said track, said raceway meeting said track laterally at an abrupt angle, a reciprocating feeder for advancing a series of said members along said track step by step, and

a separator linger movable with said feeder and arranged to control the transfer of the fastener members from said raceway to said 3. In a machine for setting fasteners, the

combination of a setting mechanism, a hori 

